For this assignment, you will present a recent empirical article to the
class on a developmental topic of your choice. The article should be (a)
recent (published within the last 5 years or so), (b) from a peer-review
journal and (c) concern the topic discussed during your assigned
class period. Presented articles will be incorporated into the
lecture/discussion for that day. You may choose an article cited in the
reading(s) for that day, or use psychinfo to search for a different
article.

In
preparation for your presentation:

Choose an article and provide a copy of it to me for approval (due
9/14)

Write a short - but formal - 2-page summary of the article,
summarizing the most important points in the introduction, method,
results, and discussion. Attach your copy of the article to the
paper (due 10/5)

Arrange to meet with me (briefly)
1-2 weeks before your presentation so that I may look over your
handout and we may discuss your ideas.

Presentation Format

Your presentation should be 12-15 minutes in length, and cover the mostimportant points of your article. I hope
there will be some student questions/discussion, so allow a couple of
minutes after your presentation to answer them. The structure of your
presentation should mirror the article itself, i.e.:

·Intro
(purpose/hypotheses)

·Method

·Results

·
Conclusions/Discussion

Your presentation should also include some evaluation of the study’s
method and/or conclusions and at least one discussion question. You may
also want to consider visual aids to help convey concepts to the rest of
the class. Please practice your presentation for timing; I will cut you
off if you go over.

Handouts

A handout (1-2 page) for each student is required (there are 16 students
in the class). Handouts should be succinct but clear and understandable
(remember that your fellow students have not read the article…).
Ideally, students should be able to take notes on the handout. I will
arrange to copy any overheads or handouts if they are given to me a week
before your scheduled presentation. See this sample handoutfor format and length of handouts.